Sleigh



N0 Model.)

J. TYLER.

SLEIGH' No. 453,679. Patented June'9, 1891.

a pressure is exerted. upon the foot-rest.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH TYLER, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

SLEIGH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 453,679, dated June 9, 1891.

Application filed December 18, 1890. Serial No. 375,081. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Beit known that I, JOSEPH TYLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Portland, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sleighs; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to the construction of sleighs; and the object of the invention is twofold, first, to prevent the tipping forward of the sleigh in the operation of pulling on the reins in the case of a hard bit-ted or pulling horse, and, secondly, to enable the horse to be placed as far back as possible, while at the same time preventing him from striking the crossbar with his heels.

I accomplish the objects of my invention by attaching the foot-rest to the thills instead of to the forward part of the sleighbody, as sleighs have heretofore been constructed, whereby any push on the foot-rest is transferred to the point where the thill is attached to the standard. This point of attachment being low down near the runner prevents the sleigh from tippin g forward when The cross-bar is preferably in rear of the dasher, and the foot-rest is attached to the crossbar. When this construction is used, the entire space between the thills is clear, so that the horse may be set back to a position near the forward end of the sleigh without danger of striking his heels.

In the accompanying drawings I illustrate a sleigh constructed according to my invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents the construction where the cross-bar is back of the dasher, and Fig. 2 where it is in front of or under the dasher, with the foot-rest attached to the thills direct.

Referring to Fig. 1, A represents the body of the sleigh, a the standard. The thills B are secured in the usual manner to the forward standard a, and each thill is so bent as to bring the curved portion well up opposite the forward end of the body. The two thills are joined by the cross-bar C, which extends across the body of the sleigh back of the dasher. To the cross-bar is secured a footrest D. I prefer to place the cross-bar C in such a position that when the forward ends of the thills rest upon the floor the crossbar will come in contact with the foot of the dasher.

E represents the eye to which the tugs are attached.

It will be readily seen that when a heavy pull is to be exerted upon. the reins and the feet are forced against the foot-rest D the pressure, instead of being exerted on the forward end of the sleigh, as is usualin such cases, is transferred to the point I), where the thill is attached to the standard, and the tend ency of the sleigh to tip forward is thus entirely overcome. In fact, the pressure will be exerted against the foot-rest in one direction and against the back of the seat in the opposite direction, thereby tending to tip the sleigh backward rather than forward. The space between the thills and the forward end of the sleigh is left entirely clear, as already pointed out, so that the horse maybe set back close to the sleigh without danger of striking his heels.

In Fig. 2 is shown a modification in which the cross-bar is underneath the dasher and the foot-rest attached direct to the thills on each side. In both cases the push on the footrest is transferred to the point of attachment of the thills, as pointed out.

I do not wish to limit myself to the specific construction herein shown, as the foot-rest may be attached to the thills by other means than those here shown, the essential feature of the invention being the attachment or connection of the foot-rest with the thills, whereby the pull or pressure is transferred to the point where the thills are connected with the sleigh.

I claim- 1. The herein-described sleigh, having the foot-rest attached to the thills, substantially as described.

2. The herein -described sleigh, having a cross-bar connecting the thills back of the dasher, and a foot-rest 011 said cross-bar, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH TYLER. Witnesses:

S. W. BATES, HARRIET J. LARRABEE. 

